Facebook suspends 200 apps as part of data investigation

Facebook has suspended around 200 apps as part of its investigation into misuse of personal data on the social network.

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg promised an audit of apps that may have accessed "large amounts of data" on the site.

The investigation is ongoing but the site has confirmed hundreds of apps have so far been suspended, pending further analysis of their behaviour.

The audit will identify apps that had access to large amounts of information prior to a 2014 Facebook policy change and then investigate those whose behaviour raises concerns, Facebook said.

(Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Writing in a blog post updating on the investigation, Facebook's vice president of product partnerships Ime Archibong said: "We have large teams of internal and external experts working hard to investigate these apps as quickly as possible.

"To date, thousands of apps have been investigated and around 200 have been suspended - pending a thorough investigation into whether they did in fact misuse any data."

Mr Archibong said where evidence of data misuse is found, Facebook will ban the apps involved and notify the public using the same tool on its online help centre that told users if their information had been shared with Cambridge Analytica.

"There is a lot more work to be done to find all the apps that may have misused people's Facebook data - and it will take time," Mr Archibong said.

"We are investing heavily to make sure this investigation is as thorough and timely as possible. We will keep you updated on our progress."

The investigation is one of a series of responses from Facebook following the data scandal, with new tools having also been rolled out to users to provide clearer access app permissions and privacy settings.

However, the social network is facing continued questions from lawmakers in the UK and US, and Mr Zuckerberg has been threatened with a formal summons to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into fake news after a recent testimony by chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer was labelled "unsatisfactory" after he failed to answer a number of questions from MPs.